Article by Catherine Hayes, TY Student, Scoil Mhuire Secondary School, Ennistymon, Co. Clare.
March 10th 2009 saw the coming together of 18 teams to Mary Immaculate College, Sports Complex in Limerick. These teams came from all over Ireland to represent their School, County and Region in this prestigious competition, to be crowned National All Ireland Spikeball Champions 2009.
Three different competitions ran together, The Girls, The Boys and a Mixed Competition.
In the Girls competition ‘Sallins Tigers’ (Kildare), ‘Convent Girls Cheetahs’ (Westmeath), ‘Ardfert Kangaroos’ (Kerry), ‘Callan Wallabies’ (Kilkenny), ‘St. Mary’s Pumas’ (Roscommon) and ‘Creagh Cats’ (Galway) took part.
The Boys competition included ‘St. Pat’s Superstars’ (Kildare), ‘Castleknock Coyboys’ (Dublin), ‘Ardfert Blockers’ (Kerry), ‘Murroe Cougars’ (Limerick), ‘Creagh Superstars’ (Galway) and ‘Creagh Dynamos’ (Galway).
In the Mixed competition there was ‘St. Mary’s Sharks’ (Wicklow), ‘The Rock Falcons’ (Laois), ‘Glenbeigh Warriors’ (Kerry), ‘St. Michaels Dynamos’ (Limerick), ‘St. Augustine’s Wallabies’ (Galway) and ‘Creagh Falcons’ (Galway).
The day started with all the teams arriving and ‘checking-in’ at the desk. After that they fitted in a little practise and then it was time for the demonstration. This reminded all the teams of what the rules consisted of and how the games would be refereed.
Just before this, Creagh N.S. from Galway decided to form a circle in the middle of the hall and entertain everybody with a little song and dance.
Once the demonstration finished and any relevant questions were answered the games began. Court 1 belonged to the girls, Court 2 belonged to the boys and in both Court 3 and 4 were the mixed teams.
A big crowd of supporters followed their team. They could be heard throughout the whole competition. The most colourful supporters were from St. Mary’s N.S. Roscommon; they wore their school colours and held huge blue-on-blue flags.
Each court had two referees, a boy and a girl. They swapped over for every second match in order to give each other a small break. Each and every referee knew the rules of Spikeball inside-out! This ensured that all the games ran smoothly. Also on every court two to three score keepers kept an eye on the referee and on the game so as not to make any mistakes, like giving the score to the wrong team. That could cause alot of trouble!
The man keeping everybody in check through-out the day was Paul McKeever, the Director of Development and Coaching for the Volleyball Association. He was at the top table in the hall ensuring that all the courts were ready before the games began, timing the games and announcing what teams would play next. Along with Paul keeping everything in order, he had the help of Ciara, Graham, Mary and Eoin.
All the officials for the day were TY Leaders and 5th years from Colaiste Bhride Clondalkin, Glanmire Community College, Mercy Roscommon, Presentation Tuam, Portmarnock Community School, St Pauls Greenhills and Villiers Limerick.
Being down beside the courts, I could see that alot of encouragement came from coaches and other team members, this helped each team along. It was good to see that they all played as a team and encouraged each other, even when mistakes were being made.
Each and every team that made it to the National Finals, definitely deserved to be there. They all played absolutely amazing. I was surprised to see just how good some of them actually played. All the teams were well aware of the rules and knew exactly what they could and couldn’t do. They all took the referees decision as final.
Their teachers and coaches really deserve to be congratulated for their work and time in getting all the teams to such a high standard.
What I thought was really nice to see, once the game was over both teams, weather they won, lost or drew, would go up to the net and shake hands with their opponents. This, I thought, really nice because it showed good sportsmanship and also it showed that whatever happened on the court would remain on the court. This is a life long skill that each and every person should carry with them throughout their whole lives.
n the morning I had thought with the nets being so high that there would be a big advantage to the taller players, however, throughout the course of the day I was proved wrong. It was quite obvious to see that height didn’t control the chances of victory. This could be clearly seen when ‘The Rock Falcons’ were playing, they had a player who wasn’t very tall, but he scored a number of points for his team. It goes to prove that it is skill that counts, not appearance!
Once all the teams had played each of their games and the scores finalised it was time for the quarter-finals. Before they started Court 4 was dismantled and Court 3 was moved over into the back-centre of the hall.
While this took place, alot of practising went on around the hall in preparation for their next games. Also, the big green and yellow flag of Clontuskert was dropped down into the hall from the viewing area by the supporters, hiding some of the opposition’s bags! Soon after; one of the supporters did come down to collect it. Once again, it hung proudly from the viewing area.
The first of the Quarter Finals began at 1:45pm, with the Girls on Court 1, the Boys on Court 2 and the Mixed teams on Court 3. The support for each team through-out, between teammates, teachers and supporters up in the viewing area was incredible.
Once the Quarter Finals finished, the Big Event drew closer; but firstly the Semi-Finals had to take place. Once Paul said that it was time to begin, it all started. All of the other teams sat around the three courts to see who would get into the Finals.
As there was a draw on both Court 1 and 2 for the second semi-final, there had to be a little extra-time. The first team on each court to reach 3 points would progress into the finals.
The teams that didn’t get through showed alot of disappointment. Each team that reached the National Finals put on a great display and really showed what talent is out there. The teams that got there were representing their schools and their counties and they really did them proud, none of them should have gone home disappointed.
At 3:02pm it was time for the National Primary Spikeball Finals of 2009. On the girls’ court were Callan Wallabies vs. Ardfert Kangaroos. Competing in the boys’ court was Creagh Dynamos vs. Creagh Superstars. On the third and final court, there were the mixed teams, St. Augustine’s Wallabies vs. Glenbeigh Warriors.
Of course nobody could know what team would win, but there was one school that would definitely be bringing home a cup. That was Creagh N.S. who had both their boys’ team in the finals!
The Finals were made up of two sets of fourteen minutes each.
After a gripping twenty-eight minutes of play the winners had been found and it was time to give out the medals and cups!
The proud winners on the day were;
For the girls – Ardfert Kangaroos.
For the boys – Creagh Superstars.
For the mixed teams – Glenbeigh Warriors.
Despite the games running slightly overtime the day was enjoyed by everyone involved! The talent and skill shown by all the players was really outstanding, any of them could easily go on to represent any team in the future without any hassle!
Congratulations to all the teams and schools involved!
